The Plant-Lore and Garden-Craft of Shakespeare

$1,100.00

This second edition of the Rev. Henry N. Ellacombe’s The Plant-Lore and Garden-Craft of Shakespeare was published in 1884. Rebound by Natalie in 2015, it is covered in hand embroidered linen. In a nod to the embroidered books gaining popularity during Shakespeare’s time, as well as Elizabethan era garden design with its symmetric ‘thick-pleached alleys,’ the cover is laid out with formal symmetry. Each quadrant depicts a plant prominent in Shakespeare’s writing and of particular symbolic meaning: honeysuckle, calendula, burdock, and rose, as well as a pansy on the spine.

The linen book cloth as well as embroidery threads and headbanding silk were each naturally dyed with plants foraged in upstate New York. These include oak and birch leaves, apple and cherry barks, and willow fronds.